Back to school Poem!

Our summer is quickly coming to an end,
It's time for school to start up again!

We've had lots of fun this summer indeed,
Soccer and t-ball and swimming with speed!

All good things must come to an end,
Relaxing days of playing and of course, sleeping in!

A new schedule will start, a new routine begin,
Packing lunches and homework, as grade 1 she goes in.

My emotions are there, feeling happy, yet a bit sad,
As my big girl moves on, thinking of all the fun times we've had.

This new routine won't be easy, but it's time for it to start,
Lunchtime will be the hardest for me, for we've never been apart.

The days will be busy, with Max gone every afternoon,
I'm sure I'll be blogging, or resting, or cleaning a bathroom!

The time has come, the school year is about to start,
Thinking how fast the time has gone kinda hurts my heart.

My kids are growing up before my eyes, the time as gone so fast,
But I know we've created traditions and lots of memories that will last.

Movin' on up!

Max moved up to Level 2 swimming lessons yesterday! Maggie's going to do it today! Woo-Hoo!

First Place Trophy!

Sunday afternoon, we loaded up the van and went downtown to the Proctor Classic. It is the annual bicycle road race and since Andy's mountain bike race was canceled due to weather, we decided to enter the kids into the "kids race."

They section off the kids in age groups, so Max rode with the 4 year olds and Maggie rode with the 5 & 6 year olds.


The road was closed off to regular traffic, the announcer speakers where loud, there were guys and gals walking around with their smooth legs and fancy-cost-more-than-my-first-car-bicycles. The atmosphere was great. The kids were excited!


Max's group went first. I felt kinda bad, cause Max and one other little girl were the only kids in the group without training wheels. So I think he had a little advantage. But hey, he's still only 4 and he's been riding a bike without training wheels for a long time. He won! First place! He won his very first trophy! I don't think he has let it out of his sight for more than a few hours.

Maggie had quite a few more kids in her group. She kind of got in the back of the pack at the start and I think that she could have caught up if they would have made two laps around the track. But she was a great sport and got a ribbon for her efforts.


They both had a great time and are ready to enter more races. I really think they just like the snacks and goodie bags they get when they enter the race.

Sharing some much needed popcorn after all their hard work.

While we watch the pros do their thing! WOW...they are so fast!

Exciting times....praying that their love for their bikes doesn't go to this extreme! Otherwise I'll need all of you to be praying for their safety.

Let the fun begin!

Today was the first day for the kids' t-ball/soccer park district program!

Of course, the weather was totally cruddy (rainy, cloudy, humid & damp) all perfect conditions for 2 1/2 hours of sitting outside. Oh, and let me just tell you...I didn't wear a hat...and boy, I should have. My hair and the above mentioned weather conditions, do not mix. So, I've learned my lesson when it comes to rain and Tues/Thurs t-ball soccer....wear a hat!

Another lesson I learned today was to read the park district program schedule with more attention. I signed the kids up for Tues/Thurs, since we go to the gym on Mon/Wed....sounds logical right, however, I forgot to put the -1 (dash one) after the session# and that meant that I signed up for the wrong days. Luckily, they were able to get us in on Tues/Thurs, so all is well....Thanks Beth for giving me a heads up on my mistake.

I also learned that it's going to be hard to entertain the kids for the 45 minutes in between their sessions....good thing they like to play at the playground....maybe I'm the one who needs some entertainment, I may have to bring some cross-stitching, a book, heck..maybe I'll just bring the laptop to keep me entertained.


Day one is down....5 weeks plus a day to go....the fun is only starting! Gotta love it!


Oh, and wishing my mom a very happy birthday today! Hope you have a great day!

Fun-filled day at Farm Park!

We attended a birthday party this past Saturday for a sweet little friend from church. She was turning 4 and Farm Park is a wonderful place to have a party for this age. They had a little puppet show, read a book, did a few magic tricks, and provided the cake and ice cream. After Lydia had opened her gifts, each child was given an ice cream cone with food for the animals in it. We walked around to all the animals and fed them the food. It was a perfect day too. It was a little warm, but that didn't stop the kids. Thanks Lydia for inviting us to your party. We hope you had a wonderful birthday!

I love when they love each other!

Getting ready to have cake and ice cream...and boy, was it good!

My sunflowers....(all three of them!)

Yes, Maggie is feeding the pony! My girl is totally coming around to trying new things, I love seeing this happen for her. She is so proud of herself.

Max kept saying how funny the whiskers felt!

Maggie is milking the "pretend" cow!

Check out that face. I love to hear and see him laughing. He totally makes me smile!

Fun-filled festivities at Farm Park! Gotta love it!

Star Wars and Parenting!

A while back when we were moving Andy's parents into the house next door to us, we found a very special part of Andy's childhood. A Star Wars pillow case that I think he would have slept with for a few days if I wasn't sharing a bed with him.

We brought the pillow case home and stuck it in a drawer. A few days ago we found it again in that same drawer, and pulled it out. With both our kids really into Star Wars, it has been challenging to come up with a system that works for sharing this one-very-loved-pillow case. It has caused a few problems when it comes to who gets to use it. Each night we have been trying to switch between kids, but there have been a few "special occasions." Obviously, Maggie was able to have it on her birthday, and Max got it the other night (which it was two nights in a row), because he was so brave at his doctor appointment. So the kids have started their own "rules" as to who gets the pillow case.

The kids are now competing over who does the most chores or who is the best listener. It's nice to see them figuring it out on their own. Mature Maggie was even the one to suggest that Max have it the other night because his ear hurt. She's so thoughtful!

Now I know that the novelty will wear off in the next day or so, and it won't be as exciting, so I'm just enjoying all the helping hands, good listening ears and polite kids while I can.

I never guessed that I would be thanking the makers of Star Wars for helping me as a parent. Kinda weird!

Few Words Wednesday!

Our newest parenting tool...(Andy's old Star Wars pillow case)...details tomorrow!

Like Pumpkins???

Well, you might be totally sick of them after reading my blog for the next few days!

Today is the official start of our towns annual Pumpkin Festival! Hooray! We are so excited! There will be a lot of orange-shirt-wearing goin on for the next few days!

This years theme is "Super Hero Pumpkins" and the kids entered into the pumpkin decorating contest. I totally forgot to get pictures of them before we turned them in, so I'll try to get some shots when we go up there tonight. Maggie entered a pumpkin to look like Underdog and Max made a Superman pumpkin. They did a great job!

Last night was also the kick-off for my little people with the annual Big-Wheel Race. It was totally unorganized and crazy like it is every year, but we had a ton of fun! Our favorite neighborhood friends raced too and of course, I got a few pics. Here are some of my favorites:

Here's Max, the boy can do it all...even with a cast!

Ashlyn

Maggie got 2nd in her race! Way to go babe!

Alex got 1st place in his race! Great job Alex!

Doesn't this look like fun!

It was a beautiful night and a great start to another fun year of Pumpkin Festival activities!

Stayed tuned for more pumpkin pics and posts!